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Beverage Bottler Gross Margin

Beverage Bottler Gross Margin measures gross profit as a percentage of net sales after beverage input, packaging, and related cost-of-sales effects.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 22, 2026
Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date
Sep 22, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
12 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Beverage Bottling Operating Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.
  1. Cost of sales outran revenue
  2. Part of the Beverage Bottling Operating Economics
  3. See It in Company Research
  4. Continue Research

Beverage bottler gross margin is gross profit divided by net sales after beverage inputs, packaging, manufacturing, and other costs included in cost of sales.

Coca-Cola Consolidated's gross profit increased 4.3% to $2.87B in 2025, but net sales grew faster at 4.8%. Gross margin therefore slipped from 39.9% to 39.7%.

Cost of sales outran revenue

Cost of sales increased 5.0%, or $209.2M. Management attributed about $135M of that increase to higher input costs, including aluminum costs affected by tariffs.

Mix worked against margin too. Still products grew faster than Sparkling products, and the company says Still generally carries lower gross margins. So the same portfolio shift that helped Still net sales also weighed on consolidated margin.

This is why the $215M management-attributed pricing benefit shouldn't be read as a one-line profit bridge. Pricing, input costs, and product mix moved together.

Source:

Part of the Beverage Bottling Operating Economics

Connect packaged-beverage revenue, standardized case volume, category mix, pricing contribution, gross margin, alternate sales channels, and customer concentration to understand beverage-bottler economics.

Browse the full operating model in Company Analysis →
Where this concept fits
  • Sparkling versus still category mixCurrent relationship
    Sparkling and Still sales paired with their respective standard physical case volumes separate category revenue growth from delivered-volume growth. Category definitions and package or channel mix remain issuer-specific, so the bridge does not imply standardized peer economics.
    Bottler Gross MarginCurrent conceptSparkling Case VolumeSparkling Net SalesStill Case VolumeStill Net Sales
  • Volume, pricing, and packaged-beverage revenue
    Standard physical case volume provides an equivalent delivered-volume measure, while bottle/can sales and management's average selling-price contribution show how volume and realized revenue can diverge. The price contribution is an issuer attribution and should not be treated as a standardized pure-price measure.
    Bottle/Can Price ContributionBottle/Can SalesBottler Net SalesStandard Physical Case Volume
  • Revenue channels and customer concentration
    Sales to other bottlers and post-mix sales show revenue outside the core direct bottle/can channel, while customer concentration shows how much direct volume and total revenue depend on major retailers. These exposures help explain revenue architecture and bargaining risk without implying that concentrated revenue is automatically impaired.
    Bottler Customer ConcentrationBottler Net SalesPost-Mix SalesSales to Other Bottlers

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

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Compare beverage stocks

Compare sales growth with gross-profit growth, input-cost inflation, and the lower-margin Still mix that explains why gross margin compressed.

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